After more than two years of war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Russian participation in the next round of peace talks. As per Zelenskyy, the second round of the Ukraine Peace Summit, scheduled for November, must include Russia in order to aim for lasting peace.
Following a high level summit in June in Switzerland, Zelenskyy is planning to hold the next round later in November this year. For this round, the Ukrainian leader has called for Russia and Putin to send representation for the peace talks.
Speaking at a press conference regarding his visit to the US for the NATO Summit, the Ukrainian leader opened the door for Moscow to come to the table.
"I believe that Russian representatives should be at the second summit," Zelenskyy told reporters.
Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the two leaders have not had any direct communication to bring an end to the war and move towards peace.
The date for the second peace summit is yet to be announced. However, Zelenskyy has stated that it will likely be held in November and by then, Kyiv will have a fully prepared plan for peace talks.
The first round of the Ukraine peace summit was held in June and Russia was not invited. World behind Ukraine and called on Putin to end its "illegal war" against Kyiv. However, close Russia allies such as China called for Russian representation at the table.
Leaders and top officials from 90 states gathered in Switzerland for a two-day summit to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. Kremlin criticised this gathering and stated that any discussions about ending the war which did not include Russia were "absurd".
